Chapter 62 Earning a Million
After the pig was slaughtered, there was basically nothing left to do. Gu Qingming and his brother had been going to the county for the past few days. Their family knew they were looking at houses, but some people in the village were suspicious, wondering if they were doing odd jobs again. The old man explained that there was still some outstanding payment to be made and told them to ask him. Only then did the villagers stop being suspicious.
A week before the Chinese New Year, the case involving Li Genzi, Li Dashan's family, and Feng Ni was finally settled.
Since Li Genzi is dead, his criminal liability will no longer be pursued, but his civil liability will still be investigated.
After the stolen money was handed over, the Li family needed to compensate Li Dahu 10,000 yuan and the Gu family 20,000 yuan. These payments were made by Li Genzi's children. They brought the money over that afternoon. Later, villagers said that Li Genzi's wife packed her things and went to the city to live with her children, leaving the house empty.
Li Dashan got his position through Li Genzi's connections. He accepted bribes, had illicit affairs, ruined other people's marriages, and disabled Li Dahu. Not only did he lose his position as village secretary, but he was also sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay Li Dahu 50,000 yuan in compensation. Li Chengming and two others caused Li Li's disability and were ordered to pay Li Li 70,000 yuan in compensation and were sentenced to ten years in prison. Li Chenggong was sentenced to one year in prison.
Li Dashan's wife's hair turned white overnight, but no one sympathized with them.
Because she had no money, Li Dashan's wife had no choice but to give the house to Li Li. In the end, she borrowed money from somewhere and paid back half of it to Li Dahu. Since the child was only detained, Li Dashan's wife did not leave, but moved to the cowshed in the village. Li Dahu said that she planned to go to work after the New Year and slowly pay back the money.
Fengni's case is quite complicated. She was a minor, and the crime involved assault and murder. Some people think it was excessive self-defense, while others think the counter-killing was justified. After two appeals, she was finally sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years. This was the result of Officer Wang and his team's efforts.
On the afternoon Fengni returned, the villagers were all watching at the village entrance. She looked at the familiar village and felt lost. She had thought she was going to die, but she never expected to come back alive.
But what good would coming back do? She had no home, no parents, no house; she didn't even know what the point of coming back was.
Li Dahu walked through the crowd to Fengni, looked at her for a long time, and finally spoke: "If you don't mind, you can come home and live with us. We'll depend on each other. When I get old, you can take care of me. Your mother has already run away, and your maternal grandmother's family has already left a message that they don't recognize you. Li Genzi's family is no longer in the village. If you want to live on your own, the village chief will arrange it. What do you think?"
This was the first time Fengni had heard the words "father and daughter" from Li Dahu's mouth. This was something she had thought about for more than ten years, but today, when she had nothing and no one to rely on, he said that she could rely on him.
Fengni's eyes welled up with tears, and she choked out, "Aren't you afraid of me? Don't you think my blood is dirty? Aren't you disgusted? Aren't you afraid of what people will say?"
He dared to do such a humiliating thing as supporting his wife and another man's child, and the other villagers would gossip about him behind his back.
Li Dahu laughed: "What am I afraid of? You're the one who should be afraid. Let me make this clear first: I'm not going to support you, I'm just going to provide you with a place to live. When I get old, you have to take care of me in my old age, and you'll have to do all the housework. If you agree, I'll get a daughter for free. If you don't agree, then forget it. So, are you in or not?"
Fengni laughed at his shameless appearance. Although he ignored her when she called him "Dad" when she was little, and although he was often drunk, he never abused her. The woman in the house, Juanzi, never carried the water; Fengni carried it bucket by bucket. After she fell, the water tank in the house was never empty again; Li Dahu carried it back until she grew up.
Li Dahu is no longer the dejected man he used to be, and he no longer smells strongly of alcohol. It seems he has started to live a normal life again.
“I’m not afraid, I’ll take care of you! When I come back from prison, I’ll work hard to support you! Thank you, Daddy Tiger!” She was too embarrassed to call him Daddy directly, since he really wasn’t, so she could only call him by his name, like some families in the village who recognize godparents.
Seeing this, Li Dahu nodded: "Then let's go back. The clothes at home haven't been washed for days. Hurry up and follow me!" After saying that, he didn't even look at the people around him and took the lead. Feng Ni obediently followed behind him.
That evening, Li Sen rushed to Li Dahu's house and saw Li Dahu putting a chicken leg on Feng Ni's plate. He was stunned for a moment, thinking that when he arrived he would see Li Dahu abusing Feng Ni. The heartwarming scene made him think it was a hallucination.
When Li Dahu saw the village chief staring at him, he felt embarrassed and scolded Feng Ni, "You don't even greet the guests, all you do is eat!"
Fengni didn't mind and greeted him with a smile, "Uncle Village Chief, have you eaten yet? Would you like to eat together?"
Li Sen then came to his senses and shook his head: "I've already eaten. I just came to check on you. How are you doing here? Do you want me to give you some more room?"
Fengni shook her head: "This is my home. I'm not going anywhere. I just got back today, and Daddy Dahu killed an old hen and stewed it for me. I'm fine, so you don't need to worry."
Seeing this scene, Li Sen felt extremely embarrassed. Before leaving, he was still worried and gave some final words of advice: "Da Hu, let bygones be bygones. Live a good life from now on, live like a human being. If you have any difficulties, come to us." After saying that, he left Li Da Hu's house.
Li Dahu watched Li Sen walk away, smiled, and said nothing.
A chicken leg was placed in the bowl. Li Dahu looked up and saw Feng Ni smiling at him: "Dad Dahu, let's each have one!"
Li Dahu laughed, taking a big bite of the chicken leg: "You eat too, and go to bed early after you finish. Tomorrow, go to the market to buy some meat to make sausages. We won't slaughter the pig at home; you raised it yourself. We'll sell it when school starts to pay for your tuition. Don't let it go hungry; if it gets too thin, it won't sell for much, and I won't help you with your tuition!"
Fengni nodded: "I'll go cut pig feed first thing tomorrow morning! I'll come back and cook, and then we'll go after we eat!"
The next day, Gu Yin saw Feng Ni carrying a basket on her back walking towards them when she opened the door. She guessed that Feng Ni was going to the back mountain.
Fengni also saw her, paused for a moment, then lowered her head and walked over.
"Fengni, where are you going?" Gu Yin asked loudly.
Feng Ni originally wanted to leave quickly, but when she heard Gu Yin call her, she thought for a moment and turned back: "Go cut pig feed, why are you up so early?"
Gu Yin nodded: "I'm going for a run. Are you going alone? Why don't you ask your dad to come with you?"
Feng Ni looked at Gu Yin with a puzzled expression, unsure whether she was doing it intentionally or not. After all, Li Genzi had indeed committed some crimes against Gu Le. Not knowing how to answer, Feng Ni could only purse her lips and remain silent.
Seeing her like this, Gu Yin realized that she had misunderstood something, so she explained, "It's just dawn, it's not safe for you to go alone. Why don't you ask your dad, Uncle Da Hu, to go with you?"
So that's what she meant by being reluctant to part with Li Genzi. Feng Ni breathed a sigh of relief and shook her head: "Dad Da Hu is still sleeping. I can go by myself. I'm quite skilled at it." Besides, after what happened, those people would stay far away from her. Who would bother her? After all, she had a life on her hands.
Gu Yin nodded upon hearing this and closed the door: "Then go ahead and do your work. If you need anything, just shout. My family can hear you."
Seeing her like this, Fengni pursed her lips and finally asked, "Don't you resent me? After all, Li Genzi once tried to kidnap Gu Le, and I am his daughter. Although I don't want to admit it, I also have his life in my hands. Aren't you afraid of me?"
If it were the thirteen-year-old Gu Yin from her previous life, she would hate and be afraid, but the Gu Yin of today has a soul that is a mature adult with a mature worldview.
“You are you, and Li Genzi is Li Genzi. We hate him, but we won’t hate you. Besides, I think you’re just trying to protect yourself. If we don’t do anything to him, are we going to let him violate us? As for the outcome, the law has already given a clear answer, so there’s nothing to be afraid of.”
Fengni tilted her head and looked at Gu Yin for a while. She saw that there was no discrimination or lying in Gu Yin's eyes, but only confusion, as if she was wondering why Gu Yin asked such a question. Fengni looked at her for a while and then smiled: "You must get into university!" After saying that, she turned around and walked towards the back mountain.
Such a good person should go to university and become an outstanding individual!
Gu Yin smiled when she heard that, then took a deep breath and started jogging slowly around the house.
The Lunar New Year is just a few days away. Early in the morning, the old lady arranged the work: the whole family had to do a thorough cleaning and wipe down the furniture in preparation for the New Year.
I was busy until the afternoon and finally finished cleaning the whole house and yard. Just as I was about to rest, the phone rang.
Gu Qinglang looked at Gu Yin, and Gu Qingming also became a little nervous.
Gu Shu's eyes lit up: "Was it Xiao Shiyi calling?"
Gu Yin ignored him and reached out to take the phone from the table next to her.
Gu Qinglang watched as his daughter kept replying, "Yes, yes, okay, I'll do it. It's fine, no problem. You can do the tallying first, and we'll give it to you tomorrow. It's alright, it's not New Year's yet, yes, okay!" He didn't know what the other party was saying, and even after Gu Yin hung up the phone, Gu Qinglang still couldn't guess how much stock they needed this time.
After hanging up the phone, Gu Yin saw that her whole family was looking at her. She smiled helplessly and said, "Xiao Shiyi said that she originally planned for us to go to the store tonight, but another order just came in, so she needs to recalculate the figures and will call us again tomorrow morning."
Gu Qinglang nodded upon hearing this: "Then let's wait until tomorrow."
Seeing the regret on everyone's faces, Gu Yin smiled and said, "But she also said that as of yesterday, there were 5,000 orders for MP4 players, half of which came from the neighboring city. They also needed 3,000 MP3 players with screens, and that's all."
Upon hearing this, Gu Shu immediately took out paper and pen and started calculating. After finishing, he stared at Gu Yin with wide eyes and said, "Not counting the afternoon's orders, up to yesterday's orders, we can earn 710,000! Adding what we earned last time, our family will become millionaires!" He wanted to shout a few times, but worried that others would hear him, so he covered his mouth and started jumping up and down on the spot.
The old man tapped him with his pipe: "You're hopeless! You've never seen the world before! Be quiet!" After saying that, he took a few deep drags on his pipe, then realized he was out of smoke. He reached for his pipe next to him, but as soon as he picked it up, it fell to the ground with a thud. The old man looked at the old woman: "Old woman, help me pick it up."
The old lady was still agitated when she heard this and rolled her eyes: "It's right in front of you and you want me to pick it up! What are your hands for?!"
The old man coughed lightly: "My hands and feet are numb."
Hearing him say that, everyone laughed. The old man had a peculiar habit: whenever he got excited, his hands and feet would go numb, like being bitten by ants. The whole family knew about this.
Gu Shu helped him pick it up, muttering, "You said I'm naive, but Grandpa, you're no different. Your hands and feet are numb! You're even more flustered than me."
The old man, his hands trembling, carefully placed his cigarette down, lit it, and after taking a few deep drags, said in a trembling voice, "A million, a million! An astronomical figure! Tell me, how come our family is so powerful?! There aren't many families in the whole town with that much money!"
The old lady remained calm. She looked at Gu Qingming and asked, "How are we going to bring all this back? Should we have a few more people come along?"
Gu Qingming nodded: "Boss Xia will arrange to help deliver it to the station, but if there are still three people, it might be difficult to get it on the train. Last time we almost couldn't finish. Let's send a few more people over. How about Ah Xiang and her sister-in-law go together?"
No one had any objections.
The next day, it wasn't until the afternoon that Xiao Shiyi called. It sounded very busy and noisy on the other end; she was practically shouting, "Gu Yin, the final tally is in! We need 8,000 MP4 players and 10,000 MP3 players! Did you hear that?!"
With the speakerphone on, even Gu Yin herself was stunned, let alone the rest of the Gu family: "How come there are so many?"
Xiao Shiyi said excitedly, "My dad and his team managed to secure two technical schools in our city, and a boss from the next city even came and ordered 3,000 MP3 players by himself! We've been working on this until now! We need the goods urgently, we need them tomorrow, can you go to the next city tonight?!"
Before Gu Yin could speak, Gu Qingming stepped forward excitedly and said, "Okay! We'll set off right now!" He had already decided to take a bus there, arrive in the middle of the night, and then contact Boss Xia to pick up the goods overnight!
Xiao Shiyi breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this: "Then please write down this number! We haven't received any replies from the other cities yet; they're still compiling statistics. I'm worried something might happen this afternoon, so please contact us again when you arrive there tonight!"
Gu Yin wrote down the number Xiao Shiyi gave her, and after hanging up the phone, she looked at everyone and asked, "Shall we pack up and leave now?"
"Let's go! Quickly bring all the documents! Ayin and Ahua are coming too! Mom, Dad, and Ale will stay home and keep watch!" Gu Qingming said and ran into the house to get the things.
After a bumpy journey, they finally arrived in S City at 10 p.m. The group took a taxi directly to Boss Xia's place. Boss Xia was fixing something and was taken aback when he saw them: "Brother Gu! What brings you here?!"
Gu Qingming hugged him and said with a smile, "We're here to pick up some goods! This time we need a lot of goods and it's urgent, so we rushed over during the day! Luckily you haven't rested yet!"
They originally planned to find a hotel to rest first and make a phone call to Boss Xia, but Ah Yin said that the night market would stay open until around midnight and was even more lively than during the day, so they just came over to drop them off.
Boss Xia put down his things, washed his hands, and laughed, "Your goods are selling really fast! Just like when we first started out, you're so energetic! Coming here so late, you must not have eaten yet! Come on, let's go to the food stall next door and grab something to eat while we talk!"
The Gu family members were indeed hungry, and they had a whole night to spare, so there was no rush. Just as they were about to leave, Gu Yin borrowed Boss Xia's phone and dialed the number Xiao Shiyi had left. It rang twice before the other end answered.
"Is that Gu Yin?" Xiao Shiyi's voice rang out.
"It's me. So, anyone want to add to their order?"
"Yes, yes, yes! We need 11,000 MP4 players in total! The MP3 players remain the same at 10,000! Gu Yin, can you get any cell phones over there? There are a dozen or so people here who want cell phones."
Gu Yin frowned: "We can get the phones, but they're no-name brands, and the other party hasn't seen the samples. I'm worried that if we just take them over, they might not want them. How about this: I'll take two back from here, and tomorrow night you can have them send a representative over to take a look, and then we'll make a decision. We'll come back after the New Year."
Xiao Shiyi spoke to the people over there, and seeing that they agreed, she relayed the message to Gu Yin: "They think it's okay! Then just bring back one black one and one of another color!"
After hanging up the phone, everyone had arrived at the food stall. After ordering, Gu Yin looked at Boss Xia and asked, "11,000 MP4 players and 10,000 MP3 players. Do you have enough stock in the warehouse?"
"Wow! So much? Luckily you're here now, I can arrange for someone to transfer the goods to you, otherwise you would have had to stay another day!" Boss Xia was startled when he heard this. This business is fast and big! After saying that, he took out his phone and called the warehouse staff.
At Electronic Street Plaza, Chu Yan, dressed in a suit, stood beside his father, listening to his father talk with local government officials. They had just come out of a nearby hotel.
Chu Xiong glanced at his watch and said with a smile, "It's already late tonight. Why don't you all go back and rest first, and we can continue our conversation tomorrow? I've been here for a week, and besides, I'm not only interested in the electronics district, but also in the port area."
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